Mine door



June 23, 1925.

F. A. GUTH MINE DOOR Filed March 17, 1922 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 WMU " .lune 23, 1925.* 1,543,005.

F. A. GUTH MINE DOOR Filed MaTCh 1'7, 1922 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 June 23, 1925.

A. GUTH MINE DOOR 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March l?, 1922 W. l llillliimlmtm lli Patented June 23, 1925.

MTENT 'GFFLCEQ ranngnnrx A. corn, ,or convienne ortie.

MNE Doon `Application filed lVlerh 17, 19,22.l Serial No. 544,600.r

To all whom t may concern.:

Be it known thatFREnuRroii A. GU'r'H, a citizen of the United "States, residing at Columbus, in the county oir ranllin and State of Ohio, has invented certainnle'w Aand vuseful Improvements in .Mine :Doei-s, of which the vi'ollofwing isa specification." i

The present invention is directedto iniprovements in automatic ruine doors.

' The primary object of theinvention is to provide a door of "this charactersocon- 4structed that the same willv automatically open upon the approach of amine car from either 'direction in the tunnel.

further object of theinventiolnis'toV vprovide rmeans to overcome Ithe air pressure upon one side of the-fdoor.V 1It is a well known fact that in mine tunnels the ,air

pressure upon one side ofthe door is' greater than upon the other side,'theret'ore Zit' is obvious that the ,doors when opening against this pressure require more power ,to open,

and it is to overcome this condition that the present invention has been perfected.V

A still further object of the inventionis to provide la novelforrn or" hinge for the l door, the structure being such that the door can be opened in one ydirect-ionl with less power thanV the other direction.'

Still another object of the invention is to provide novel means for protecting thed'oors .against injury whenfa mine car comes in Vcontact therewith. l

lVitli these and other objects in View, as will appear as .the description proceeds, the invention consists in ythe -novelieatures"of construction, combinations of elements -and arrangements ott parts, and hereinafter .to be fully described and pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure l is atop plan lview of the door,

Figure 2 is a sectional viewon the line 2-2 of Figure l, Figure-.3 is a sectionl view on the line 3-3of Figure 2,

Figure L .is a :sectignal view .on the linethrough one of the hinges,

Figure 5 isa ltransverse sectional view "Figure 6 a 'vertical rsectional view through the salme, L'

Figure i7 is'aifragmentary elevation ofone o'lfthe doors, and L F igufr'e i8 isa detail perspective `view .of the crank shaft'connector. n

` Referring to the drawing, l designates the conventional' rails fupon opposite sides Aof which Iarelocated the vertical posts 2, said .posts lbeing disposed'againstfthe sides of the tunnel. The inner' sunfaces oft'he' post 2 are provided with curved v'seats 3, and ycom- 'fmunicating with these seats are bores 4, the purpose of vwhich will appear later. Eachl 'door is yprovided vwith .vertically spaced hinges y5,*preferably Jtwo 4in'number, but it will "be ofcourse understood that ythe number of hinges .may be increased if desired.

These 4hinges consist of boXings 6,theouter I vided with openingsQ'fror the recept-ion of the eyes l0 of -the`1bolts A1l,"saidboltsloeing located in `the bores 4 of the posts 2'. Surfrounding the bolts l1 are coil springs l2, Athe outer terminals of which .bear against YVthe boXi'ngs 6, while the inner iterminils thereof eng-agethewashers 13, said Washers being held in' place by the vnuts 14. 'llhus'itv willbeseen that uponnianipulating the nuts '14 that the tension of the `springs lQcan be conveniently regulated. Y

The hinges 5' further'consist of clamps V15 inwhich-'are secured the outer 'edges ofthe doorsl, said'ldoor's being preferably formed v from wood,a1`1`d areof such size asto-.tfthe 'tunnel as snugly' as possible so asto trap the gases an'd'foul air in the .tunnel at the doors 16 are normally in direct alignmentV and extend transversely of the rails 1. `Upon opposite sides of the doors 16 are pivotally mounted independent shafts 21,l

which are disposed in direct alignment, and have fixed to their outer ends crank arms 22, similar arms 23 being fixed to the shafts intermediate their ends, and connected withV the latter shafts are trip bars 24, said bars being preferably of channel formation for the reception of the mine car wheels 25.

The crank arms 22 have their upper ends provided withpins 25 which pivotally engage the upper section 26 of the connectors 27, the lower sections 28 of said connectors having slidably engaged therein rods 29. Upon opposite sides of the sections 23 are arranged coil springs 30'and 31, said springs surrounding the rods 29 and having their adjacent terminals bearing against the adjacent ends of the sections 28. rFhe springs 30 and 31 are held in placeon the rods 29 by collars 32, which are adjustable to regulate the tension of the springs 30 and 31.

The inner ends of the rods 29 are eachV provided with stub shafts 33, the purpose of which will later appear. Disposed between the rods 29 are frames 34, the sides 35 of said frames having fixed thereto the inner ends of the bars 36, the outer ends of said bars being pivotally connected to the i stub shafts 33 of the rods 29. The bars 36 are slidably mounted in the `guides 37 which are secured in any suitable Vmanner to the ends of the ties 38. Y

Secured to each door 16 adjacent its hinged edge is abracket 39, said brackets being located within the frames 34.

Aligned with the posts 2 and extending longitudinally of the mine tunnel are supports 40, which may be formed of any suitable material, and each support has pivotally mounted upon the inner sides thereof grooved segments 41 to which areV secured chain sections 42, said sections being in turn flexibly connected to the doors16 by the chain sections 43. The segments 41 are further provided with arms 44 upon which are adjustably mounted weights 45. Suitably anchored in the tunnel adjacent the supports 40 are brackets 46, and pivotally'connected intermediate their ends to said brackets levers 47, the upper ends of said levers being provided with notches 48 which are adapted to receive the ends of the arms 44, as clearly shown inVFigure 4 of the drawing. The arms 44, when tunnel pressure is exerted upon the left or inner sides of the doors, when closed, will not rest on the bases of the notches. However, when the tunnel pressure is released in the tunnel the arms will rest on the bases of the notches, thusvpreventi'ng the weights from swinging downwardly and opening the doors.

Having their inner ends pivotally connected to the pins 25 are rods 49, said rods having fixed thereto collars 50 which are adapted to engage the sleeves 50 which are pivotally connect-ed with the levers 47. The sliding movement of the rods 49 are limited in one direction by the colla-rs 50 contacting with the sleeves 50. Y

A chain lconnects the lower ends of the levers 47 and rods 49, as more clearly shown in Figure 4.

It frequently occurs that a mine car will strike the doors of the usual formation which results in injury to both the car and doors, to overcome this objection a novel form of protector is used. This protector consists of metallic bows 52 which are suitably secured to the opposite sides of the doors, and immediately below these bows are secured loops 53. Since the bows and loops are formed from resilient metal it will be apparent that should a mine car strike the same that the shock incident thereto will be absorbed by the bows and loops, and will also prevent metallic parts of the car from striking the doors. i

In `Figure 1 the doors 16 are shown in their closed, positions, and it is apparent that when a car approaches the doors from the right hand side that the wheels of the car will actuate the adjacent trip bars 24` which compresses the adjacent springs 30 and slides the bars 36 inwardly or to the left, whereupon ,the frames -34 will exert pressure upon the brackets 39, thereby swinging the doors 16 to their open positions, and simultaneously therewith the springs 12 ofthe hinges will be compressed, as will be obvious. As the bars 36 slide forwardly the springs 30' located on the left hand side of the doors remain in noncomprcssed conditions, and cooperate with the crank arms, 22 to rock the shaft 21 to the left to cause the trip bars 24 on the left hand side of the doors to assume a position in a plane with the other trip bars, and at the same time the rods 29 will be actuated to cause the levers 47 torock, whereupon the arms 44 will be disengagedV from the notches 48. Thus the arms 44 will swing downwardly thus pulling the chain sections 42 and 43. By the addition of the weights 45 the pressurevin the tunnel upon the inner or left hand sides of the door will be overcome and permit the doors vto open j 1,543, oo 5 'easily against the pressure in the tunnel. In

other words the weights cooperate with the springs'12 to balance the pressure against the doors, andare locatedgupon the pressure side of thedo'ors. j l "As so'on as the .cars engage the trip bars 24 upon the left hand side of the"doors the lsprings 31 will be slightly compressed and maintain the doors 16 in openpositions. After lthe cars ,leave vthe trip bars 2401.1 the left hand side of the doors it will be obvious that the springs 12, which have been compressed as the doors swing open, will, during their expansion, draw upon the heads 17, thereby positively swinging the doors to their normal or closed positions. Due to the tact that the air pressure vis to the right causes the weights 45 to rise to their norma-l positions.

As the' doors 16 return to their closed po sitions the brackets 39 act upon the outer side bars 35 of the frames 34, thereby causing the adjacent bars 36 to move to the right to assume their normal positions, and simultaneously the levers 47 are returned to the positions as shown in Figure 4 as the spring 47 retracts. It of course will be understood that said spring has been eX- panded when the lever 47 was swung to the left., since said spring. connects the lever 47 with the supports 40.

When a car approaches the door-trom the lefthand side the adjacent trip bars 24 will be actuated and the connected parts thereto will operate in the same direction, and at which time the door 16 will swing outwardly or to the right. As soon as the cars engage the trip bars 24 on thev left side of Ithe doors the adjacent springs 30 will be compressed and will slide the associated bars 36 to cause the Jframes 34 to swing the doors,

and simultaneously therewith the opposite trip bars are swung downwardly and outwardly. The springs 12 will naturally be compressed Vand said doors will pull on the chains 43 and 42, thereby causing the arms 44 and their weights 45 to be swung upwardly to a position nearly perpendicular. At the same time the crank arms 22 will be rocked to the right',thereby pulling upon the rods 49 and at which time the chains 5l. will pull upon the lower end of the lever 47, thereby rocking the same again to the lett to positively tree the outer ends of the arms 44 rom the notches 48.

The cars upon engagement with thetrip bars24 upon the right hand side will hold the same down, slightly compressing the adjacent springs 31 to move 4the doors 16 to their open positions' to the right. As

'i soon as the cars leavethe bars 24 on the springs 47 will swing the levers 47 to the [right fandinpositions so thatthe arms 44, as they swing downwardly, will engage -the notches 48.

4Should the trip bars tor anyreason fail`- to operate Qas a car approachesa-.door `the protector, which consists otthebows and 4'loops 53wvill beA engaged'by'the adjacent parts ofithe car so "as'to absorb the `shock of impact between the doors and the `r4car, 'thus-preventing injury to the doors.

and loops 52 and 53, respectively, are used.

In other words, the doors 16 are opened by the pressure or torce or the car or locomotive thereagainst, and in an obvious manner. vAs soon as a cari or locomotive has passed between the doors the same will automatically close under the action of the c springs 12.

What is claimed is:

1. In an automatic mine door, a hingedly supported door section, tripping mechanism located on opposite sides or the door and including a pair of movable bars-arranged to be actuated by the passage of rolling stock thereover, resilient Vconnections between the bars and said door section operable to swing the door section in a direction governed by the line of travelv of the rolling stock, and

a resilient hinged mounting for the door section constructed to admit of swinging movement of the door section without necessarily moving the tripping bars.

2. In a mine car door, the combination with a door frame, of door sections pivotally supported by theframe for swinging move-i ment in opposite directions, trip mechanism disposed upon opposite sides of ythe door sections and operatively connected thereto, resilient connections between the frame and door sections for returning the doors to their. closed positions independently of the tripping mechanism, said resilient vconnection being also operable to permit the door sections to be swung to their open positions independently of said tripping mechanism and independently of each other. Y f

3. In a mine car door, the combination with a pair ofhingedly supported door sections, of tripping mechanism located on opposite sides or' the door and operatively connected with the door sections to swing the same in a direction in accordance with the line of travel of aA mine car, and resilient y means for swinging the dooiI sections to their closed positions independently of the tripping mechanism and independently of each other.

4. In an automatic mine door, a pair of swinging door sections, tripping mechanism located on opposite sides ofsaid sections and including m'ovable members arranged to be actuated by the passage of rolling stock thereover, resilient connections between said members and said door sections operable to swing both of said sections in the same direction in accordance with the line of travel of the rolling stock, and a resilient relief mechanism provided in connection With the swinging mounting for each of said door sections constructed to admit of swinging movement on the part of the door sections `witl1out necessarily operating the tripping mechanism.

In testimony whereof I afiiX my signature.

FREDERICK A. GUTH.q 

